Every season seems more alive the more time we spend outside enjoying it. With all the demands on our time, it can be hard to remember to take just a minute here and there to enjoy the wonder of a changing season with our children. Here are a few ideas to mark the glory of fall. Some are quick, the sort of thing you can do between the house and the car, and some mean a few hours of fun.… Read More...
Note: as part of International Babywearing Week we’re hosting a Giveaway! See the bottom of this post to enter.
People easily recognize an infant cradled in arms as a universal symbol of parenting and nurturing; we know that babies mostly love to be carried and cuddled. Yet, this inherent part of tending an infant can be very challenging in the first couple of years. Whether you’re trying to wash clothes, buy groceries, make a sandwich or tend another child, … Read More...
If like me you grew up in a tradition that did not observe Michaelmas, you might be at a loss regarding its significance; you might also wonder how to bring it to your children if the Christian stories do not fit within your family’s faith. Marking the day so close to the equinox draws our attention to the changes in our world. It can be a really beautiful way to bring our children’s attention to the season’s change in the … Read More...
In the hubbub of a busy morning, not many food choices will seem easy enough to bother with. The idea of making a sandwich can be insurmountable when you already know your child won’t eat the bread or can’t take peanut butter or only eats ham every third Tuesday when the moon is full. All your ideas of healthy food choices suddenly seem less important than just knowing your child will at least consume a few calories between breakfast and … Read More...
Some of you might read that title and think it’s a little ridiculous. But there are those who just are not all that interested in games; we like sharing work or pretend play or reading, but sitting down to an extremely simple game with a very young child can lack appeal. Having a few good reasons to play a structured game could make the difference in whether we teach our child how to play dominoes, memory, or spades. Perhaps that … Read More...
“Those who wish to sing always find a song” Swedish Proverb
I read this proverb and have to say, I’m not so sure it’s right. I think a lot of us want to sing, but we’re unsure what to sing and are a bit intimidated by the prospect of sharing our imperfect voices.
We resist even though numerous studies have shown the mental and physical health benefits of singing. We understand intellectually that singing creates stronger relationships between groups as … Read More...
As noted scientist Temple Grandin titled her book of the same name, animals make us human. This can seem a very strong statement until one watches children and notes their affinity for and curiosity about animals. Some kids watch creatures from a safe distance. Others are more forward and grab every cat or dog they can get close enough to to touch. Most children will add the names of animals to their first few words. However they show it, new … Read More...
Personally, I was delighted when my toddlers began pushing brooms around. As a trained Montessori teacher, I was always excited to see my own children beginning to engage in “work”, but first as a teacher and then as a parent, I knew that everyone was happier if I distinguished my children’s work from mine. I had learned that it was better to classify this work as very important “play”. Playing house is often one of the first ways adults … Read More...
“Great hardships and great dangers are in store for him; but he shall win through them all.”
— From Isabel Wyatt’s The Kingdom of Beautiful Colors
This quote from Isabel Wyatt came to me a few weeks back as young people in Florida were standing up to the powerful, demanding the value of their lives over the profit of an industry. Our battered, mildewed copy of the storybook for middle-grade children, from which the quote comes, carries the older, less … Read More...
Is your crafting cupboard or drawer bursting with broken bits of crayons, uncapped, dried out markers, crumpled paper and bits of yarn all randomly stuck together with leaked glue from the left-open bottle? Does the sight of glitter and the memory of trying to clean it up bring tears to your eyes? Are you stifling frustration every time your child asks to paint? How is it that some people seem to be able to make craft time with their children … Read More...
